Hereford Civic Society

Friends of Castle Green Diamond Jubilee Extravaganza

2012-05-20T12:18:00.001+01:00

An unreasonable attack on people concerned about Hereford's future

2012-05-15T21:09:00.001+01:00

Hereford Civic Society has described an editorial in the city's weekly local tabloid as "an unreasonable attack on a group of people concerned about the positive future of Hereford".

The unattributed opinion column appeared in the Hereford Times on May 10th, 2012. It questioned why the Society was objecting to a giant statue of a bull being erected next to the Black and White House in High Town, Hereford and went on to criticise the society for what the paper called "mischief-making".

In response, HCS Chairman John Bothamley wrote to the newspaper saying: "When the proposals for the Bull were lodged, following a proper debate, the majority of the HCS committee was minded to object for the reasons previously stated. The letter was far from being last minute, as you suggest. Our written objection was correctly submitted during the statutory consultation period."

Mr. Bothamley's letter explained that the Civic Society is a forum for the built environment, and that as such, "in the course of our activities we engage with policy makers, and regularly comment on planning applications."

The Chairman went on to point out the constructive contribution the Society makes to the debate on Hereford's built environment. "In the next few weeks [we have] a lecture on community owned pubs by CAMRA's local man, Mark Haslam at the Barrels, 7:30 23^rd May. [We are] hosting the City launch of the Herefordshire Pevsner (the authoritative updated reference book on every notable building) at All Saints 7:30 on 27^th June. In High Town on Saturday 23^rd June there will be a stand explaining the slow process by Herefordshire Council in producing the Local Development Framework, a large piece of work which will have a huge effect on us all."

Further evidence of the proactive and positive role the Society plays can be found on the website, which hosts a wealth of articles, further links and details of events.

Our objection

2012-05-13T18:59:00.000+01:00

Hereford Civic Society has objected to the siting of a large bronze sculpture of a bull in High Town as follows:

Dear Sirs

Members of the Hereford Civic Society are concerned about the proposed siting of the bronze sculpture. Bearing in mind the busy nature of High Town it is considered that this large impressive sculpture could, in fact, add to the street clutter. Surely such a noble beast should be presented on its own in a prominent position rather than along with the chairs and tables, caravans and stalls that often feature in High Town. It is of surprise to our members that English Heritage has not objected to the extremely close positioning next to a Grade I listed building. Further there is concern that there is a proposal to remove living trees and there are no plans detailed to replace them. For these reasons we believe the application should be rejected.

VAT relief on alterations to listed buildings

2012-05-04T19:39:00.001+01:00

Civic Voice is asking civic society members to join a sector wide campaign to ask the Government to reverse its proposed decision to remove "VAT relief on alterations to listed buildings". You can support this campaign by writing to your MP here.

In the 2012 budget, the Chancellor proposed removing the zero rating of VAT on alterations to listed buildings and this decision has prompted huge interest from civic groups including Guildford, Hexham, Northenden and Newbury (to name a few).

Up to now approved alterations to listed buildings have been exempt from VAT. This means that projects that have “altered listed buildings” have not had to pay VAT on their work at 20%. A building is altered when its fabric, such as its walls, roof, internal surfaces, floors, stairs, windows, doors, plumbing and wiring is changed in a meaningful way.

Civic Voice said "Sensitive alteration is often needed to secure a viable long-term use for many Listed Buildings. We fear that withdrawing VAT relief to these types of projects will be off-putting and many projects may not go ahead. Listed buildings are important as they contribute to the architectural heritage of an area, providing interest and variety to the streetscene and giving an important 'sense of place' to the locality. They play a very real role in promoting a sense of civic pride" .

The consultation closes on May 18th and you can contact your MP here

Hereford Civic Society to take part in the first ever national “Civicwatch”

2012-05-04T17:18:00.002+01:00

Civic movement to discover Hereford’s levels of civic pride

Saturday June 23 will be Hereford’s chance to measure how proud its residents are of where the town they live.

Civicwatch – a new national survey – is being launched by national charity Civic Voice to find out how proud we all are of with where we live. Civicwatch will be taking place during national Civic Day.

Civic Voice President Griff Rhys Jones said: “Civic Voice believes everyone has the right to live somewhere they can feel proud of. We hope to build up an annual picture of how proud people are of where they live – do people in Coventry have more pride? Is Yorkshire the place with civic at its heart? This is what we want to find out”

Hereford Civic Society’s John Bothamley said “What better year to launch this initiative than during the Jubilee year. There will be an increase in civic pride across Hereford. Let’s make Hereford the place that has the most civic pride across England”

Civic Voice will publish the results from each local survey so that people across the country can see how their town has scored compared to neighbouring areas. Individuals can take part in Civicwatch by visiting www.civicvoice.org.uk.

President Griff Rhys Jones added “We all talk about the importance of people having civic pride and having a connection with the place that live, but there has never been a nationwide assessment of this. By working with our members, we are going to be out in force across the country discovering our nation’s true civic pride.”

Spring 2012 magazine

2012-04-28T15:45:00.000+01:00

A new edition of Hereford Civic Society News is now available for download. The edition includes articles and comment on 'space', the ongoing ESG saga, and Yazor Brook. Click here to download this and earlier editions of the magazine.

ESG Debacle

2012-04-09T15:18:00.000+01:00

A statement from the HCS Chair, John Bothamley, was sent to Herefordshire Council Cabinet on 9th April. It read as follows:-

Hereford Civic Society fully appreciates the necessity of commercial confidentiality in negotiations around this fraught subject. Although HCS is a non-political forum it has to strongly make the point that such a controversial decision should not have been taken behind closed doors. Much has been written by our Society, and other experts, over the last decade opposing many features of the proposals. Together with events in the wider world this project is now clearly flawed. The seven members of the cabinet have committed Herefordshire to a grim future, with the only benefit, if any, going to outside investors.

If only the Scrutiny committee, believed to be meeting on 23rd April, can find some procedural mistake, perhaps there is a chance of withdrawing from the whole project; taking a deep breath and reappraising it from the current and anticipated future perspective.

If there is no room for negotiation, yet again our Council has embarked on a poorly planned and unbalanced partnership with complicated and entangled organisations, that are more experienced, and more driven by the demands of their shareholders, than our Council is driven by the best interests of their electorate.
Collectively the Council has shown scant regard for Herefordshire’s citizens; preferring to be remembered for a supermarket and a link road to nowhere, but not a cinema, not a vibrant City centre, not an urban village.

Guerilla Grafters

2012-03-31T10:13:00.000+01:00

We've come across the following interesting video about adding to our 'green infrastructure' in a rather innovative way. What do you think of it?

Unique opportunity we mustn’t squander

2012-03-20T20:35:00.000Z

Things seem to be moving rapidly at Rotherwas. Since achieving its Enterprise Zone status last year, a new management board has been established, it has been re-branded Skylon Park and its new ‘gateway entrance’ is to be marked by a two-thirds replica of the Festival of Britain’s iconic structure.

In its February budget, Herefordshire Council set aside £6-million for the construction of a bespoke Council Records Archive at Skylon Park. Though its cost is known, its ‘site footprint’ has yet to be determined and the method of its procurement is undecided. Cllr Roger Phillips (an Enterprise Zone Board member) says the designs could either be handed over to Amey plc, undertaken by Design & Build specialists, or commissioned from an architectural practice. Council officials have lost no time in visiting local authority archives buildings in Cardiff, Hull and Wolverhampton.

This unique opportunity to create something truly 21st century for Hereford’s fledgling industrial park must not be squandered.

Official ‘aesthetic guidance’ for such buildings is sparse, with BS5454 being principally concerned with an archive’s fitness for purpose in housing official records safely and ensuring ease of access. But could not such a ‘closed shop’ building also have a public face? Rotherwas, after all, is steeped in history: James Gibb’s lost 1732 Palladian mansion; its sadly under-recognised wartime munitions operations; and the archaeological discovery, in 2007, of the Bronze Age ceremonial path which became known as the ’Rotherwas Ribbon’.

At Hull, the council’s new History Centre, opened in 2010, combines the city’s archives with its Local Studies Library (said to be well used by local family historians) and Hull University’s archives. Closer to home, Ludlow’s Library & Museum Resource Centre, as well as housing much of the county’s archaeological collection, has a well-visited public display of the world-famous Shropshire Woolly Mammoth. Because specialist archivists will need to be employed at Rotherwas, there might be a case for moving the county records office from St James.

Award-winning Rothschild Archive. Photo: Richard Bryant

Though it was only completed 12 months ago, the Rothschild Foundation’s Archive building near Aylesbury (designed by Stephen Marshall Architects) has already won an RIBA Award and was short-listed for last year’s prestigious Stirling Prize. Set in landscaped grounds, the building features heat pumps, recycled ‘grey’ water, 1.5m-thick walls and external sculptural-like vertical louvres, to minimise solar gain within the centre’s reading rooms. It is said to be the largest naturally-cooled archive structure in Britain - which, for a building which plans to be around for a long time, is a very important plus point.

Neil Kerr, Chairman of the Enterprise Zone Board (and the man credited with the Skylon replica idea) is on record as saying that Hereford’s new Skylon Park must be “an inspiration to the world-class technology and communications businesses we intend to attract to the site.” A piece of ‘cutting edge’ architecture as good as the Rothschild Archive would fulfil that brief perfectly.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect HCS policy.

The plane truth: Hereford's B-24 crash

2012-03-13T12:12:00.000Z

Our next event is entitled 'The plane truth: Hereford's B-24 crash' and promises to be a fascinating evening.

In August 1944, the crew of a US B24 were killed in a crash at Burghill. Due to wartime secrecy the truth has never been discovered until now, as local historians Jerome Corre and Neil Taylor take up the challenge.

This is a 'double bill', and Neil Kerr of Herefordshire Business Board will also update us on the new Skylon Enterprise Zone at Rotherwas.

The event is on Wednesday, 28th March 2012, with refreshments from 7pm and a 7.30 pm start at The WATERSHED, Wye Street, Hereford HR2 7RB. Please download, distribute and display posters as widely as possible.

Entry is free although we welcome you to join the Society.

Sometimes they do listen to us

2012-02-27T11:07:00.000Z

HCS News: Summer 2011

Street billboards across the city last week announced that a replica of the famous 1951 Festival of Britain Skylon had been chosen as the official emblem for the new 148-acre Rotherwas Enterprise Zone, which secured government funding last autumn. Doubtless to fit in with its space-age image, the old Rotherwas Industrial Estate is to be re-branded Skylon Park.

But let’s not complain: they’re clearly listening to us.‘Us’ – to give due credit – is the Hereford Times’ long-serving news reporter Bill Tanner, who first began celebrating in print the Skylon’s anniversary; David Goldsmith, Chief Executive of Painter Bros of Hereford (which fabricated the steel components for the London South Bank’s 72m-high cigar-shaped structure) who has endorsed the idea of a ‘Skylon revival’; outgoing HCS Chairman Garry Thomas, who focussed on the Festival of Britain at his farewell address to the society last October; and, last but not least, the society’s own quarterly magazine HCS News, which presciently published an article last summer headlined: “Let’s Find a Home for the Skylon”.

Further details are sketchy at the moment, but it is understood that the council may sponsor a design competition for a permanent installation (to include a 2/3rds replica of Powell & Moya’s original structure) which would be sited at the entrance to the new Enterprise Zone.

The man who sold six million trees

2012-02-27T11:04:00.001Z

There were mixed emotions at the Courtyard Arts Centre on Friday 24 February, when well-wishers met to pay their respects to the late Peter Williamson, founder of Wyevale Garden Centres, and enthusiastic benefactor of many local arts events, including the Borderlines Film Festival, which opened that day.

The Courtyard programme included a tree-planting ceremony, performed by members of the family and a screening of the film ‘The Man Who Planted Trees’, the 1987 adaptation of the French story about a shepherd who, over four decades, plants and nurtures a forest of several thousand hardwoods, single-handedly transforming a barren landscape. The film won the Best Animated Short Film category at the 1988 Oscars.

The screening (clearly a tribute to Peter Williamson’s own love of trees and the countryside) was preceded by a reading by the author William Fiennes from the Woodland Trust’s short stories collection ‘Why Willows Weep’.

Green Infrastructure

2012-02-16T19:04:00.000Z

The Green Infrastructure project is an exciting plan to improve the natural local environment in the city. One of the first objectives is to green the major routes into the city with trees. For full details see our dedicated page, where a briefing note with full details has just been uploaded.

They ASDA be joking!

2012-02-16T09:51:00.001Z

The Society has lodged an objection to plans for a petrol station on the busy ASDA junction in Hereford. This is on the grounds that it will create further congestion in an area which already has traffic problems, reduce air quality, and create an ugly entrance to the city.

Instead, the Society proposes that the filing station could be built on part of the existing car park, which is underused. Here, there would be less congestion, and the land adjacent to the junction could be made more attractive to those arriving in the city.

The submission to the council states: "This junction is one of Hereford City’s major gateways and deserves something more appropriate than a petrol filling station. Adding some trees to the present green area occupying this site would much enhance this entrance to our city, as well as help to reduce air pollution."

The site is immediately adjacent to the A49/A465 junction and was to be the site of an apartment block when ASDA first applied for planning permission in 2003. Though the junction works smoothly, the Society believes that the already heavy congestion here will certainly be made worse by the additional traffic generated by the planned filling station. There is bound also to be an increase in air pollution.

Anyone wishing to comment on the proposal can do so online here. Hereford Civic Society is recommending rejection of this application on the grounds of amenity, traffic congestion and air pollution. We welcome reader comments - please post these below this article.

Brian Hatton lecture review

2012-02-09T17:41:00.004Z

Local campaign group Here for Hereford have published a review of our recent lecture on Brian Hatton which can be read here.

Plan B for Hay

2012-02-08T07:38:00.000Z

Readers may be interested to hear of a plan for a new supermarket in Hay on Wye, a favourite destination for many Herefordians. A local campaign, Plan B for Hay, has been set up, to oppose the supermarket and promote an alternative community plan for this famous "book town".

Find out more from their website here.

Taking Herefordshire Tourism Forward

2012-02-08T07:36:00.000Z

Sir Ben Gill, Herefordshire's Tourism Czar and former chief of the National Farmers' Union (NFU), will be talking about his drive to up Herefordshire's profile as a tourist destination at our next event. This takes place on Wednesday, 29th February 2012. Refreshments are available at 7pm and the meeting starts at 7.0pm at the WATERSHED, Wye Street, Hereford HR2 7RB. All welcome.

Mind the clutter

2012-01-24T17:47:00.000Z

HCS Vice Chair Hubert Porte describes conditions on some Hereford streets as 'squalor' and argues that they are unnecessarily cluttered.

Clutter and squalor on our streets accumulate insidiously. We do not notice them at first, but gradually, they begin to annoy us, until finally we are outraged at the state of our towns and cities.

Much ratepayers money has been spent on Hereford city. 'Mixed' would be a charitable description of the results. Apart from the unnecessary kerbs, Widemarsh Street is vastly improved. The campaign against chewing gum is very welcome and largely successful. We now need prosecution of the owners of badly maintained vehicles, which drop engine oil on the new paving.

Hightown is a dog's dinner. Despite that, it is a comfortable and welcoming space. Its largely 18th century proportions and streetscape are unique and have hardly changed in the last 150 years. These are precious. “Wow !, this is lovely” has been a frequent comment by visitors from other cities on entering Hightown, at least until 2002.

Since 2002 we have seen the erection of twelve overpowering black posts with cameras and lights on the north side of this space. These are entirely out of keeping with the genteel 18th and 19th century frontages, which characterise Hightown. More recently two revolting rectangular boxes have been erected on the west end of Hightown. These declare that it is a pedestrian zone, something we have all known for years, and stand like two obnoxious totems, obstructing the visitor's views of the Old House and westwards of High Street.

We grumble if there are not enough litter bins, but is Hightown with eleven over-provided ? Provided the bins are not allowed to overflow, could we not manage with a smaller number? Besides, they can hardly be described as beautiful or tasteful.

Six public telephone boxes – two of the old red variety – are too many in this space, or indeed anywhere, considering how little they are used.

Benches and cycle racks are welcome, but their arrangement is not ideal.

As to shopfronts, A-boards, signage and general maintenance of buildings, there is still much improvement needed. Weeds growing two storeys up the frontage of buildings do nothing to enhance the character of a district.

This is just Hightown. The visitor is confronted with rusty poles, unnecessary and confusing signs, puddles and broken surfaces and much else in the streets of our city. There is no doubt that Hereford badly needs some T.L.C. and an administration which appreciates its unique character. Hightown in particular needs an overall redesign by some agency with skill and experience in street design.

Over the next few weeks, we intend to show examples of these deficiencies of our city and would welcome comments and more examples of clutter and general squalor which disturb our readers.

Photographs and further details can be found here.

January Magazine

2012-01-23T08:16:00.000Z

A new edition of our magazine is now available for download, packed with news and debate from Hereford's built environment forum. The latest edition and a full archive is available here.

Forthcoming events

2012-01-23T07:45:00.000Z

A poster advertising our February event with Ben Gill, former President of the National Farmers' Union, is now available in our poster downloads area. Please distribute and display as much as possible. Don't forget our next event is this Wednesday - details on the same page.

Vince Cable is coming...

2012-01-09T09:03:00.001Z

Vince Cable is coming to the 'Green Biz Showcase', on Monday 2 April 2012, from 6.00 - 9.00pm at the Courtyard Theatre and will be taking part in Herefordshire's Question Time.

Organised by the Chamber of Commerce and Herefordshire Greenlinks, this is billed as an opportunity to put questions, issues and good ideas to the business Secretary, Vince Cable - for a better, greener, prosperous future for Herefordshire.

The future for Hereford Station

2011-12-31T11:22:00.001Z

Rail for Herefordshire are holding a meeting to consider the future of Hereford Station and it's buildings which may be of interest to Civic Society supporters. The meeting will be held on Thursday 9th February 2011 at 7.15pm, and will be attended by representatives from Arriva Trains Wales, who manage the station. All welcome - free entry.

A landscape history of Hereford

2011-12-30T13:31:00.001Z

David Lovelace entertained with a map based history of Hereford city and its environs at the Society's December event.

South of the old bridge there was the Forest de la Haye stretching out over the Callow and down to Kivernell. The next map showed a developing situation, then the map of 1606 more detail; all shown to the same scale. The technology is known as a digitised Geographic Information System, which is now available to provide full and detailed information precisely recorded; and, of course, he brought us right up to date, including Belmont before and after ASDA.

With others, David is promoting a pilot project, using GPS technology and volunteers, to record the “green infrastructure” within Hereford Precise photographing of trees, with overlaid measuring, can be linked back to maps precisely. This work aims to provide a greater depth of background research from which we can plan. This is where it all becomes less precise. Politics and prejudice, lack of knowledge and even lack of respect for our city’s green infrastructure make the way forward not an easy one. Lovelace acts as a consultant to the Herefordshire Council, currently working with the Hereford Tree Forum, on which the HCS is a major player.

Pedestrian signage

2011-12-30T13:15:00.001Z

Are pedestrian routes around town well signposted?

The Society was invited to contribute to a discussion at Amey’s offices, to develop the style and extent of sign posts necessary to assist tourists and new residents. Our view was that there should not be an increase in the overall number of signs, but that improvements could be made in some locations. Budget restraints impinge but the policy for these signs is drawn up by Amey for the Herefordshire Council to ratify.

Event Review: Skylon remembered

2011-12-01T08:13:00.001Z

"The swansong of our former chair Garry Thomas was an excellent account about the building of the Skylon, a centrepiece of the Festival of Britain", writes our new Chair, John Bothamley.

The historical context was the need to inspire Britons out of their malaise following the war. This was a showcase of modern Britain and what it could achieve on the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851 at Crystal Palace.

Constructed by Painter Brothers of Hereford, the Skylon was located on London's South Bank near the new Festival Hall, a slim needle-like monument, suspended on just three main cables and held vertical by another three.

The present Painter Brothers Chief Executive, David Goldsmith, attended the event at Hereford's Watershed venue, and provided a wonderful archive film of the fabrication and erection of the Skylon. By today’s standards it was a boys’ own project with large metal frames bolted together on site in the vertical position, but with a precision not seen before in London, and not a hard hat in sight.

There was talk, during the reminiscing, of recreating it in Hereford, possibly in the new Enterprise Zone. But this would hardly be forward thinking and perhaps a new contemporary Skylon would be appropriate. After all, we seem to be heading for depressing times much like the late forties, and could do with a beacon to inspire us?